Always Brave, Always First

My brother, Larry, was the middle child in a family of five. We grew up in the town of Albert Lea, near the Iowa border. I'm the kid sister by a long shot. As a little kid, I always remember all seven of us family members lining up together to get our pictures taken when both of my brothers left our home on their leave from their time in the Air Force and the Army.

While other kids in junior high were concerned about hair, clothes and making the pompom squad; deep inside I knew that brothers went away to serve our country and keep Americans safe but hopefully they returned. Bill came back from Korea, started a family with his lovely wife and remains in our hometown. Two extended family members would later die in Vietnam.

Larry was the life of the party where ever he went. Even as a kid, he was the one rounding up the neighbor boys to go for bike rides or else to the beach. He was also the first one to jump off the roof of our one story house and break his arm landing in the fern bed. In high school, he was charming the girls with his radiant smile and enthusiastic nature.

It was very natural for Larry to join the Navy after high school to see the world and be near the water we had grown to love. After serving as a helicopter mechanic in the Navy for three years, Larry enlisted in the Army with his goal to be a helicopter pilot. 

Larry spent much of his time stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Benning, Georgia. He readily accepted the challenge to become a Green Beret and also acquired Army Ranger status. He loved being a paratrooper and enjoyed his jump wings and eventually became a HALO team leader.

He loved the sense of adventure and competition to get one commendation and then just one more award for just a bit more effort and kept on like this for his 24 years of active duty. Larry's three tours in Vietnam were stressful on all of us who loved this wild and radiant guy. His hightest rank was Captain.

LIke many of his fellow military members, those of us back in Minnesota never knew he and his units went through. Larry had a skin disease that lasted for years because his socks were wet much of the time while he was in Vietnam.

All of us in MN were so relieved when our life of the party middle sibling was away from combat and served our country near Bad Tolz, Germany, the land of our great-grandparents.